1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for creating and editing multi-media titles.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the focus has been on information service, and accordingly, the need for a system that can provide service has increased. Since multi-media data are handled by computers, as the performance of computers has improved, there has been an increase in the demands for a system that can create and can reproduce a multi-media title in order to mix the multi-media data and to disseminate information by the means of computers. Especially, because of the original property of information, it is demanded of recent information service systems that different information be provided repetitiously, over a short period of time. That is, there is a demand for a system that can repeatedly and easily create similar titles. In a conventional multi-media title editing and reproduction system, a time axis is employed as a basic axis. Along this axis, the editing and the reproduction of a title is conducted so as to perform an action, such as the display and the non-display of individual elements.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating one conventional example of an apparatus for editing and reproducing multi-media titles. As is shown in FIG. 11, a conventional multi-media title editing apparatus comprises: element accumulation means 1101; element management means 1102; user input means 1103; scenario storage means 1106; scenario accumulation means 1107; layout setting means 1104; and display attribute setting means 1105. Using this arrangement, an explanation of the operation for creating and editing a multi-media title will now be given. First, a user employs the user input means 1103 to select an element in the element accumulation means 1101 that is managed by the element management means 1102. The selected element is displayed on the user input means 1103, e.g., a display. Then, the layout setting means 1104 is employed to set up the layout for the element. In the layout are included a position at which the element is to be displayed, i.e., positions X and Y on the display, and the size of the displayed element, i.e., the width and the height. As the method to be used for the setup, there is one method whereby a layout is set up using a mouse in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get: data are output as they are displayed on a screen) manner while monitoring a positional relationship on the screen, and there is another method that provides the input of values for positions, etc., directly, by using a keyboard.
Further, the display attribute setting means 1105 is used to set the display attributes for the element. The display attributes represent various setups, such as an element display method and an element modifier method. If the display element is a moving picture, its display attribute is the setting of drawing frame speed; if the display element is a static picture, the display attribute is the setting for the limited number of colors to be used; if the display element is text, the attributes are the settings for the character font type and size, and for the colors of characters and the background; if the display element is a speech element, the attributes are the settings for the volume and for the balance on right and left sides; and if the display element is an animation, the attributes are the settings for the speed for drawing frames, for the frame modifier that encloses the display element, and for the display level. The display level indicates the position of an element relative to the lowermost location in the display when several elements are stacked and displayed. A method for selecting one of the setups from a selection list, or a method for inputting a value directly at a keyboard can be employed as the method for setting the display attributes.
These operations are performed each time an element is added to a title until finally, the scenario storage means 1106 is used to store the scenario for a title that is created. As is described above, each time a display element is selected, the conventional multi-media title creation and editing apparatus determines a layout for defining the display position and the size of the element, and the display attributes to be used for representing the display method and the modifier method for the element.
Although the conventional multi-media title creation and editing apparatus can have a high degree of freedom for an expression method and can provide an expression at a high level, it requires a user to simultaneously perform the selection of an element when a title is to be created, the definition of a layout, such as the display position and the size of the element, and the detailed definition of a display method, such as the display attributes for the element. Therefore, the procedures for the performance of the job are difficult to understand, and cannot be handled unless a user is technically skilled. Further, the conventional title creation and editing apparatus disables recycling, such as the repetitive use of only the layout for the title that was created, or its display attributes. When it is desired that the title is to be created frequently, each time an element to be displayed on the title is changed, the layout and the display attribute must be set, which requires much labor. Since new information must be sequentially provided when using a multi-media title, the layout and the display attribute of a title that is determined once must be easy to use repeatedly.